Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 | 8:46 a.m.
Born: Jan. 17, 1942
Birth name: Cassius Marcellus Clay
Hometown: Louisville, Ky.
Nickname: "The Greatest"
Record: 56-5 (37 knockouts)
Record in Las Vegas from 1961 to 1980: 5-2 (four knockouts)
Honors: Sports Illustrated crowned him Sportsman of the Century in 1999 ... he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom two weeks ago ... the $54 million Muhammad Ali Center opened over the weekend in Louisville. Although slowed by recent neck surgery and Parkinson's disease, Ali attended the ceremonies.
Forty years ago today, on the second anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, Muhammad Ali fought his first title fight in Las Vegas, against Floyd Patterson, before a crowd of 8,106 at the Convention Center.
Ali had claimed the title by beating Sonny Liston with a seventh-round TKO in Miami Beach on Feb. 25, 1964, and their rematch 15 months later ended quickly with Ali's first-round "phantom knockout" of Liston in Lewiston, Maine.
Ali's return to the Convention Center, where he had won a unanimous 10-round decision over 6-foot-6 Hawaiian Duke Sabedong in 1961 in his Las Vegas debut, was shrouded in drama.
"I was there," said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "Ali called Patterson 'rabbit' in those days, and Ali could have stopped him earlier than he did. He carried Patterson and punished him.
"Ali was too quick and much bigger than Patterson, too."
1. RESPECT
Although Ali had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name more than 18 months earlier, Patterson -- like many writers -- refused to acknowledge the switch, repeatedly referring to him as "Clay" and his adopted "Black Muslim" religion as a "scourge."
Ali appeared at Patterson's training camp with two heads of lettuce and some carrots, claiming Patterson was "scared as a rabbit." Patterson vowed to win back the heavyweight championship "for America."
Then Ali followed Patterson's nastiness with venom of his own, even concocting an offensive poem about Patterson.
"This little old pork chop eater don't have a chance. From eating pork he's got trillions of maggots and worms settling in his joints. He may even eat slime of the sea," Ali said leading up to the fight, as recounted in "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times," by Thomas Hauser.
"Before the first round is over, people will say, 'Forget it.' I got superior height, weight, balance, reach, speed, strength and youth. I'm going to point ... at the spot where he's going to fall."
2. ROUND ONE
Ali didn't throw a punch. He danced and dodged and retreated and slid, starting to win the mental victory by toying with Patterson, never throwing a glove at his nemesis as he covered the surface of the ring.
It was the start of a story that Life magazine would title "Sickening Spectacle in the Ring."
3. STAGGERED
When Round Two started, Ali turned on his fury. By the middle of the bout, Ali had knocked down Patterson with a left jab. Patterson was unsteady and it appeared that the champ could end it when and how he wished.
Ali took a step back, often saying "What's my name?" every time he seemed on the verge of sending Patterson to the canvas for good. Referee Harry Krause halted the scheduled 15-rounder in the 12th.
4. ADMISSION
In Hauser's 1991 book, Patterson confirmed that he had never fought someone like Ali and that Ali stood out among the heavyweight champs.
"He moved with such grace, three minutes of every round for 15 rounds, and that's extraordinary," Patterson said. "You see, moving takes a lot out of you, especially the way he did it. His legs were his strength ... his legs kept him out of trouble, until he got old."
5. RECONCILIATION
In 1986, Patterson, in town to watch a Mike Tyson fight, approached Ali as he ate dinner at the Dunes and said, "Hello, Muhammad Ali." According to Tim Dahlberg's 2004 book "Fight Town," Ali stood and hugged Patterson.
"And I kind of forgot all the derogatory things that happened in the past," Patterson told Hauser. "I was surprised at how much I liked him. He was a nice guy. Believe it or not, he even seemed a little shy."
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